A HOSPITAL doctor bit chunks of flesh out of his wife's face in a deliberate attempt to destroy her looks, a court heard.

Dr Alfred Bediank Osei, a senior house officer in the accident and emergency department of the Countess of Chester Hospital, had been responsible for an assault of exceptional viciousness which resulted in shocking injuries, it was claimed.

Wyn Lloyd Jones, prosecuting, said the defendant had previously bitten his wife, Julia, although he claimed that it had been a "lover's mark" on her cheek.

Mr Lloyd Jones said: "This is not a case of just biting of the skin and causing a mark. The defendant actually bit chunks of flesh from his wife's face in a sustained attack that lasted some little time."

The defendant, he alleged, had been responsible for "serious, mutilating injuries".

Dr Osei, born in Ghana, came to the UK with his German-born wife, who was also a doctor at Chester specialising in gynaecology.

The jury has heard allegations that he struck his wife on the head with a China vase which broke, grabbed her around the throat with both hands and choked her and then repeatedly bit her face, neck and hand.

She had undergone surgery and skin grafts for her injuries, including one where a piece of the nose was actually missing as he had bitten and removed a section of flesh from the around the area of the left nostril.

He had removed a large portion of tissue from her right cheek and she suffered a wound to the bridge of the nose and he had also bitten her to the right side of the neck and the upper right arm.

The marriage had broken down, Mrs Osei had decided to leave and get a divorce and she was due to take up a new hospital post in Edinburgh, the court heard.

The evening before the incident, she had been at a party and returned home in the early hours but could not get in and went to stay with a friend, Christine Williams.

When she returned home the next day, there was an argument concerning the proposed divorce.

Mr Lloyd Jones said: "She tried to go upstairs, he grabbed her by the legs and restrained her, grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to push her down stairs.

"He said that if he saw the police in the house, then it would be the last day of her life."

Mrs Osei, 32, left and went to the police station for advice and then she returned with Mrs Williams to collect her belongings.

Mrs Williams waited downstairs but she dialled 999 after hearing her friend's screams.

Mr Lloyd Jones said: "He grabbed her by the throat, choking her. To try and get away she bit him on one of his fingers.

"The prosecution say that it is an inescapable conclusion in this case that the defendant was deliberately attempting to destroy her looks.

"He took flesh from both cheeks and from the nose. The injuries bled immediately and profusely."

Giving evidence at Mold Crown Court, Mrs Osei said: "I felt like chunks were coming out of my face. I didn't think about pain at the time.

"I struggled to get out of the grip. I was worried, worried whether I would be able to breath until the police arrived, or whether I would die on the bathroom floor."

The 34-yearold defendant denies a charge of inflicting grievous b o d i l y harm with intent and an alternative charge o f GBH, following the incident in the bathroom of their home in S h r e w s --bury Way, Saltney, on the afternoon of Ju ly 2 7 last year.